Retail Customer Experience: 6 Insights About Communication Preferences – Infographic

Shifting consumer trends have made companies rethink the retail customer experience. Last year, there were 230.5 million digital shoppers – those who shopped online or via mobile app. That’s forcing retailers to rethink their approach to sales and customer service to meet the needs of both traditional and non-traditional shoppers.

To deliver a better customer experience and improve brand loyalty, retailers should consider what consumers actually want in terms of best practices for communication.

How the Phone Fits into the Retail Customer Experience

After a customer leaves the store or has their order delivered to their house, how do they solve an issue? Do they fill out a form online? Return to the store? Message via mobile app?

In fact, more than half of consumers (55%) want to solve urgent issues with their store with a phone call. The phone call beat out SMS/text messaging and emails by a 2-to-1 margin.

Why People Prefer a Phone Call

According to our survey, people identified the following reasons for using the phone to solve their issues:

1. They’re more efficient than messaging
2. They can easily explain their issues over the phone
3. It’s easier to ask questions on a call
4. Chat solutions (chatbots or other) rarely work for them

Missed Connections Can Be Costly

When people are expecting a phone call from their store, 3 in 5 people said they missed or declined the call because they didn’t recognize the number. That’s likely due to scammers and illegal spoofing. People just don’t answer unknown calls.

And missed calls impact everyone – both the brand and the consumer. Nearly two-thirds of people said they would consider switching brands for a business that could properly identify itself.

2022 Retail Industry Report

Want more insights on how to improve the retail customer experience? See what else there is after the sale in After the Sale Ends: Retail Industry Survey Report.

First Orion is a leading provider of branded communication solutions. Find out more about our INFORM solution, which has helped one of our retail clients have seen a 55% decrease in declined calls.